Daintily, Weiss Schnee bit down on her sandwich.

Today's weather had been unexpectedly fine, and so Weiss had taken the decision to have lunch and study outside. The heiress was sitting on a park bench, math book in hand and a packet of sandwiches on a napkin beside her.

Humming contentedly, she set down her book. She was making good progress, she was sure to ace their next test. In fact, from the looks of it she just might edge out Pyrrha this time.

Still… Weiss leaned back. It was a bit quieter than she was used to.

On the face of it, Ruby being preoccupied was a good thing. The girl was a constant distraction from her studies, being as loud and flighty as she was. Even when stuck in their rooms Ruby had often pestered her to entertain her.

Secretly though, Weiss could confess to feeling a bit put out. While she had often chafed at Ruby's over-enthusiastic attempts at friendship in the past, her partner hadn't spent any time with her at all over several weeks. The only times they saw each other outside of study or sleep was when the entire team was together as a group. It almost felt like she had been replaced.

"... Ruby …"

She perked up. Someone talking about Ruby?

Around the corner turned a familiar red-headed pair.

"Pyrrha, Nora."

'Hey Weissy! Whatcha doing?"

"Studying. You two?"

Ironically enough, Weiss would not have noticed the shopping bags Pyrrha was carrying in her hands if she had not tried to shift them to be hidden behind her skirt.

Raising an eyebrow, she circled around them and looked down at the label.

"Adiak Flash Free Disposable Cameras." She glanced again at an unrepentant looking Nora and an extraordinarily-guilty looking Pyrrha.

"You're stalking them again on their next date, aren't you."

"We're stalking them again on their next date, yeah."

…

Contrary to popular belief, Coco Adel was not bad with money.

Sure, she liked spending money, almost all of it on clothes, but she was not wasteful. Her clothes were all expertly and carefully chosen, maximizing style without burning a hole through her wallet.

Case in point, the girl was now staring intently at two different shorts. One was easier to match with the rest of her wardrobe, being jet black, but the other was the perfect match for her favorite top. The patient salesperson beside her hummed as she again held up both to the mirror, swapping between the two to see how they looked.

"Ruby those aren't glasses!"

She turned around. It was Ruby and that boy that was with her that day, Jaune. The two of them were by the glasses counter, several dozen pairs of glasses strung out in front of them. Ruby was grinning from ear to ear as she took off a pair of sunglasses.

As she watched, the girl put on another pair of glasses, a pair of black rimmed spectacles with red tinged lenses.

She spread her arms in a 'ta-da' pose. "What do you think?"

"Hmmm…" he leaned forward. "No."

"What?" Ruby looked heartbroken. "But why? They match Crescent Rose!"

"But they don't match you. Here, try these." He grabbed a pair of thin round-rimmed silver spectacles, and tenderly fitted them onto her face, before physically turning her to face the mirror.

"See? These glasses bring out your eyes."

"Awww, thanks!"

She blinked, staring at the sickeningly sweet display.

Were Yang's mad ramblings in the female showers true? Had Ruby actually gotten herself a boyfriend?

Jaune was trying on the glasses now, swapping between a gold coloured pair with white tips and one with a blue metallic frame and tinted lenses, with Ruby hanging off his shoulder and critiquing both of them.

"Ruby, I really think the blue suits me more."

"But the gold matches Crocea Mors!"

The two of them were so engrossed in their glasses that they didn't notice her walking up to them, until she cleared her throat.

"Coco?"

"Oh hey."

Ruby looped her arms around Jaune's and dragged him around to face her. "Tell him, the gold is better right?"

"Uh, gonna have to agree with Jaune here Rose, the blue goes better with him."

"What? B-b-bu-" Her arms snaked even tighter around the boy's arm in distress, who simply pulled out a black credit card with gold leaf and held it up.

She pouted in defeat, before snatching up the card. "Ok fine, but I'm choosing the case!" Grabbing the two pairs of glasses, she ran off to the counter, leaving the two of them standing there.

"Soo… glasses huh?"

"Yep. Ruby mentioned that she sometimes can't see the words on the board, and I needed another pair of glasses, so here we are."

"I'm surprised she let you pay for it."

He grinned at her in a way usually reserved for pranks. "Ruby thinks I get a discount with the card."

Right. That made sense.

"Well, at least you're here. If Ruby was shopping at a store like this by herself she might end up on the streets."

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

She snorted. He hadn't known her for very long if he thought that Ruby knew how to manage her money. The girl did know self-control for things like food and dust, but she had no experience with luxury goods. She'd spend herself dry in a single day.

"She wouldn't be homeless, I've got a spare house she can use."

Wait what?!

"Jaune!" Ruby bounded around the corner, their bags in her hands. "Cmon! The pudding booth is closing!"

"Ah shit! Ok see you around Coco."

"Bye Coco!" The two of them bounded off, giggling like schoolgirls as they rushed to the pudding booth.

Coco turned back to the shorts. The previously reasonable price tag now felt incredibly heavy without somebody to cover it.

How had Ruby of all people managed to snag someone like that?

And how could she get in on this?

…

The video call flickered, bursting into static multiple times before finally revealing a blurry image of a vaguely human shaped blob. Qrow smacked his scroll into the table, which caused its legs to give out, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Hello Qrow. It's a pleasure to see you."

Sighing, Qrow motioned for the manager to add it to his tab before moving to another seat. At least the video was clear now.

"Hello Ozpin. Nice to see you too." He tilted his head back, draining the glass that he had managed to save before waving the waiter over.

"Hello Qrow. You had some information for me?"

"There's some activity going on in Vacuo. Not sure if it's linked to Salem or just some crime rings, but the gangs are becoming more restless. There's talk of drug movements and smuggling, some of it to Vale."

"I see, I'll have Theodore keep an eye out."

"How are my nieces?"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "Miss Xiao Long has been an exemplary student. Her grades are steadily improving, she is becoming more-"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "I'm not Glynda, Oz."

"They're doing fine." Ozpin took a sip from his mug, amusement tinging his face. "Miss Xiao Long hasn't gotten into any trouble recently, and Miss Rose is settling in admirably."

"She's making friends then?"

"Yes, quite a few too."

Qrow nodded. "That's good, she's happy then." He hadn't been particularly worried about Yang, but his younger niece had always had trouble making friends. Even on Patch she'd clung to Yang like glue, he'd been worried that history would repeat itself here.

"Yes, she is. And of course, I'm sure her new romance has something to do with it."

The glass in his hand cracked, booze leaking out of its sides, and the table gave way under his rapidly tensing shoulders, causing the manager to let out a violent stream of obscenities.

"What did you say?"